A special sale of in-lamb ewes was held at Ballymena Livestock Mart on Monday at the weekly sheep sales.

A total of 300 ewes were brought forward for sale on the evening and all lots were sold. Ewes were a mix of two-, three- and four-year-old animals and were scanned in-lamb, with lambing dates due to start from 1 March.

Trade was strong, with a large turnout of buyers looking to source quality stock for replacements or to expand flock numbers.

Mule ewes tupped to Texel rams topped the sale, with a pen of nine ewes carrying twins selling to £185 (€215).

Two further lots of mule ewes, also scanned with twins, sold to £175 (€203) and £170 (€197) respectively.

Suffolk ewes in-lamb to Texel rams and carrying twins sold from £150 (€174) back to £138 (€160). Texel ewes in-lamb to Suffolk rams and carrying twins sold from £164 (€190) back to £135 (€156).

A small entry of ewes carrying single lambs sold from £105 (€139) to £125 (€145).

In the general sheep sale, store lambs sold to a top price of £70.50 (€81) for Texel-cross lambs weighing 38kg to 40kg.

Ewe lambs sold to a top price of £73 (€84) for Dorset lambs. Texel-cross lambs sold to £70 (€81), with Suffolk lambs selling to £69 (€80).